Is Pizza Healthy? How to Order Pizza for Better Health

Pizza is often called a guilty indulgence or even junk food. After all, delicious buttery crust, succulent sauce, gooey cheese, and spicy pepperoni can hardly be considered healthy--Right?

In some cases, pizza can only be called an indulgence, but there's a better question hidden somewhere. Is pizza healthy? After all, a pizza with veggies has something from each of the four food groups. We're here to explore the ingredients that go into pizza to answer the age-old question: Is pizza bad for you?

Redefining Pizza: It's Not All Created Equal

Some pizzas contain components like high-calorie crusts, sugary sauce, excessive cheese, and processed meats. Large amounts of these ingredients don't contribute to a healthy diet low in fat and sugar. Yet, most pizzas also provide a good source of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and vitamins. For example, vegetable oils and shortenings used in pizza crusts contain healthy fats, cheese contains protein, and tomato sauce contains lycopene. If you love pizza topped with veggies, you can get the added benefits of extra vitamins. You can also change your pizza's ingredients to make it healthier. 

Building a Better Pizza: Your Crust is the Foundation

Changing your pizza crust can help you reduce carbs, sodium, and calories. You can change crust ingredients based on dietary restrictions, health goals, or a unique taste profile. A pizza crust is amazingly versatile, allowing you to make these changes as needed:

• Choose thin crust versus Sicilian crust to cut the amount of gluten in your pizza.
• Opt for a gluten-free crust that aligns with your dietary restrictions.
• Decrease carbs with a veggie crust (like cauliflower).
• Eliminate carbs and add protein with a keto pizza crust made from chicken.

Customize Your Toppings for Optimal Health

The ingredients you choose to top your pizza can help you cut calories and add vegetables to your diet. Consider these options to make your favorite pizza a healthy choice. 

• Smart Protein Choices: Top your pizza with lean protein like grilled chicken or anchovies for a satisfying taste without adding saturated fat plus brain food. Add that to the chicken keto crust and you are doubling up on the protein with a crust alone starting at 37 grams.
• Veggie Power: Add lots of veggies (like peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms) to get the health benefits of vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B3, and other nutrients. Adding a side salad can give you even more vitamin-boosting vegetables. 
• Cheese Considerations: A cheese crust pizza with extra cheese isn't your best bet for healthy pizza, as it adds sodium and cholesterol. Cut back on cheese and choose sauces and toppings to elevate flavor. Alternatively, you can choose light cheese or even plant-based vegan cheese to get the gooey, cheesy flavor profile you love without the added cholesterol and sodium.
• Change Up Your Sauce: While your typical pizza sauce might be a bit sweeter, you can instead opt for a marinara or vodka sauce instead. Better yet, to keep it really healthy you can choose a pesto or olive oil base. But, if you are looking for that fully indulgent pizza on the opposite side, you can go for that alfredo sauce base too.
• Healthy Fat Options: All fats aren't bad fats. You can add healthy fats to your pizza with toppings like olives and anchovies for a flavorful pizza that will satiate your appetite. 

Spinato's Pizza: Where Delicious Meets Dietary Need

When your favorite food can champion your healthy diet and be prepared to align with your dietary restrictions, you can eat as much pizza as you want. If you wish to indulge in your favorite high-calorie slice, are seeking an option to fit into your healthy diet, or need to align with dietary restrictions, Spinato's has an option to satisfy your craving. 

At Spinato's, we believe that everyone should be able to enjoy a pizza that fits their dietary restrictions, goals, and lifestyle. That's why we're always innovating to find ways to create delicious pizzas that meet your needs. Come in and taste our top classics and the new generation of Spinato's pizza today.